Air Canada: L'ARTA tient à rassurer l'industrie

ARTA , l'association des détaillants canadiens du voyage, tient à rassurer l'industrie quant aux inquiétudes exprimées par certains de ses membres à l'effet que Air Canada pourrait bientôt connaître des difficultés. L'association émet cet avis que nous reproduisons ici dans sa version originale, en anglais.

1. While some low cost carriers which became insolvent were unable to meet their obligations to passengers, it is almost without precedence that a major carrier seeking bankruptcy protection has left passengers without trip completion or failed to provide air services for which payment had already been made.

2. Air Canada Jazz (a distinctly separate airline affiliated with Air Canada) and Air Canada's Star Alliance partners would be obligated to honour all ticket sales for services paid via Air Canada and contractually operated by these carriers.

3. Even though the likelihood of a disruption to travel plans is nearly non-existent, it is always wise for travel agents to instill greater confidence and comfort levels among travelers by encouraging customers to pay for their air services on a credit card. Most credit card companies will stand behind their "delivery of service guarantee" and would refund customers in the unlikely event travel services were not provided. Agencies are reminded, however, that an agency credit card or a travel agent's personal credit card is not permitted either for BSP ticketing or when transacting sales via the Air Canada agent web site (ADO).

4. Provinces with travel legislation and regulations (British Columbia, Ontario, and Québec) have additional mechanisms in place to afford consumers protection in the event of an airline failure. Consumers should be made aware of these additional protections, particularly during the current financial stress facing the entire travel industry. Please take a moment to review these regulations, where applicable, including any limitations and restrictions which these respective travel compensation funds may have.

5. Recent senior management changes at Air Canada have strengthened the carrier's ability to deal with its financial pressures. A fine team of experienced financial managers is now at the helm of Air Canada, and every indication is that the airline will weather these tough times better than before.

While travel agencies and Air Canada have not always seen eye-to-eye, it is ARTA Canada's view that continuing to sell Air Canada should be business as usual. While each agency must make its own decision regarding which airlines it chooses to sell, we feel there is no valid reason to change any policy regarding the agency community's ongoing support of Air Canada.